Page 139 of Burning Embers
And I’m certainly not going to think about my future mating to fucking Desiree. It won’t happen. I refuse to allow it to. Now that I found Izzy—my Heart—there’s no way in hell I’m going to tie myself to another girl.
My sister focuses once more on the flip phone. “And then there’s the whole Gracie incident.”
“Gracie?”
Her lips firm. “I arrived at his place early—oh, I forgot to mention that heneverallows me into his apartment—and got bored waiting outside. So I went to his room and overheard him leaving a voicemail for someone named Gracie. He kept telling her to call him back, and he’s sorry, and he meant what he said.” She swallows heavily. “He talked more to this Gracie chick on the phone than he ever does to me.”
Okay, yeah, that sounds pretty damning, but I try to put myself in Ethan’s shoes. My brother would come up with a logical solution to explain away Grayson’s odd behavior.
“Maybe Gracie’s a relative. A sister, perhaps?”
“Yeah, maybe. But I guess we’ll see for sure in a few seconds.” Sydney tosses me a diabolical smile. “I watched him plug in his password.”
“Syd, you really shouldn’t be invading his privacy like this,” I say gently, and my sister frowns.
“I went to you instead of Ethan because I thought you’d have my back.”
I roll my eyes at her dramatics. “I do have your back, hence why I’m warning you to stop.”
She waves away my words. “Just watch the door. Give me a shout if they’re coming back.”
Yeah, no thanks.
Instead of doing that, I flop down beside her on the couch. I totally don’t think it’s cool that she’s going through his phone, but if he proves to be a lying cheater? Well, a brother’s got to know these things.
“There’s literally nothing on the phone.” Sydney’s brows furrow. “No apps or games or even messages.”
Okay, that is pretty damn suspicious.
“Click on his photos,” I suggest, pointing.
It takes Sydney a few seconds—we’re so used to touch screens that it’s strange to click on buttons—but she’s finally able to access the photo icon.
Nothing.
“Maybe check recently deleted?”
Sydney nods and does as I suggest.
“WHAT THE HELL?” Sydney screeches, red splotches erupting on her cheekbones in her rage. “That cheating son of a bitch.”
“Let me see,” I say, feeling a strange ball of yarn congregate in my throat.
Grayson’s phone is full of pictures.
Pictures of females.
Pictures of females who don’t seem aware they’re being watched in the first place.
I recognize both of them, even if Sydney doesn’t.
I saw both of their bodies. Studied the crime scene. Talked with the police officers.
Larissa and Alixandra.
The two wolves who were murdered.
My heart feels like a mound of cement in my chest. There’s a strange roaring sound between my ears as I scroll through all of the recently deleted photos.